cognitive exp for depression non bio Flashcards
what is it an explanation of?
unipolar depression
what does the explanation believe?
that thinking processes can cause the disorder
who developed the explanation and when?
beack in 1960s
what did he develop?
the cognitive model for depression
what does the model believe causes the disorder?
genetics and early experiences which affect thinking
who are schemata involved?
they are built up from interactions and experiences
how many aspects are there to the model of depression?
3
what are the three main aspects of the model of depression?
cognitive triad
cognitive errors
schemata
what is the cognitive triad?
a negative view of self, the world and the future
what are cognitive errors?
faulty thinking, long with negative and unrealistic ideas
what are schemata, how are they involved?
mental representation, patterns of maladaptive (not adjusting appropriately to enviro) thoughts and beliefs
what did beck say that depression is a product of?
pessimistic schemata about how the world works
when do negative schemata develop?
during childhood
how do negative schemata develop?
as a result of early trauma and unhappy experiences, leading to the cognitive triad
what do negative schemata lead to?
cog triad
how can the cog triad create a hopeless view?
see themselves as worthless/useless
seeing the environment as full of obstacles and overwhelming
then seeing the future as hopeless
what can help confirm the beliefs that they have gained from early experience?
a trigger or event that occurs later in life, normally mirroring the event
how many schemata did beck state were involved in depression?
5
what are the likely schemata involved in depression?
cognitive affective physiological motivational behavioural
what is the cognitive schemata?
lead to seeing actual or threatened loss
what is the affective schemata?
leading to sadness
what is the motivational schemata?
lead to helplessness and lack of direction
what is the behavioural schemata?
lead to withdrawal and inactivity
what does the existence of the particular schemata lead to?
they will concentrate on processing information that is relevant to the schemata
and not on more personally positive information
what information is ignored due to existence of particular schemata?
personally positive information
what does the concentration of info for schemata lead to?
reinforcement of negative beliefs
what does the existence of negative thoughts lead to?
biased processing/cognitive errors that lead to symptoms of depression
what does biased processing/cognitive errors lead to?
symptoms of a emotional disorder e.g. depression
what are two examples of cognitive errors?
over generalisation and polar reasoning
what is overgeneralisation?
an overall negative conclusion about all situations based on one perhaps trivial event.
e.g. if one bad relationship occurs may generalise to all future relationships
what is polar reasoning?
all or nothing thinking
unless everything is perfect it is considered a failure
one small mistake may mean they are totally incompetent
what do cog errors change and trigger?
perception and trigger anxiety and negative thoughts
what does the change in perception and triggering of anxiety and negative thoughts trigger?
behaviour consistent with the symptoms of depression e.g. helplessness
what two types of schema does beck now believe are involved in depression?
interpersonal and personal achievement
what is the interpersonal schema?
generalised representation of self other relationships developed during childhood through interaction with attachment figures
what is the personal achievement schema?
characterised by failure to achieve goals
what leads to the formation of a depressogenic schemata?
life events such as string of unhappy experiences
why is the explanation holistic? (S)
takes into account genes, early experiences and learning and suggests developmental issues can lead to certain patterns of thinking
what did the cog explanation lead to? (S)
the creation of CBT treatment which has been found as effective in treating depression such as NICE, therefore has been useful to society and adds to validity
how is the explanation valid?(S)
creation of CBT
what did lewinsohn find?(S)
researched depression and found that when stressed, dysfunctional attitudes rather than environmental factors was the strongest predictor of adolescent major depressive disorder (shows how negative thinking is biggest contributor)
what did hollon find?(S)
reported on many attempts to evaluate CBT and found that it performed well in controlled trials. It appears that CBT helps for at least as long as drug treatment, suggesting that addressing negative thought processes must be involved in depression in order for CBT to work
what does the explanation fail to explain?
gender bias and why women suffer more frequently than men, no evidence that men have more negative schemas
what is the issue of cause and affect?(W)
there is not evidence that negative thoughts cause depression rather than simply being present in the disorder, negative thinking seems to stop when depression does, suggesting that it comes with depression but is not the cause of it
